David Edward Byrd
David Edward Byrd is an American graphic artist, designer, illustrator and painter who created the official poster art for the Off-Broadway version of Little Shop of Horrors, which was featured on the original cast album and used for countless other productions of the show. Personal life David Byrd was born April 4, 1941, in Cleveland, Tennessee]], and was raised in Miami Beach, Florida. David has lived in the Los Angeles area since the 1980s. In 1985 David began Byrd/Beserra Studios, with his partner Jolino Beserra.Statement by Jolino Beserra Education He graduated from Miami Beach High School in 1959, attended the Boston School of the Museum of Fine Arts for a year and then Carnegie-Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where he received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Painting and Design in 1964 and a Master of Fine Arts in Painting and Printmaking in 1966. Career After graduating, David moved to New York City where in early 1968, work was started for promoter Bill Graham for venues in the new Fillmore East Ballroom in Manhattan's East Village. David was reputedly hired on the spot after showing his portfolio to Bill Graham and signed on as the exclusive poster and program designer, beginning with a poster for the upcoming Traffic event. In the period 1968 to 1973, he and Fantasy Unlimited created posters for Jimi Hendrix, Iron Butterfly, Jefferson Airplane, Ravi Shankar, Traffic, and Bill Graham favorite the Grateful Dead. In 1969 David created the original poster for the legendary Woodstock FestivalOriginal poster for Woodstock (not to be confused with the artwork by Arnold Skolnick). He also did work for Broadway. Posters were designed for Stephen Sondheim's Follies, Godspell, The Robber Bridegroom, The Grand Tour, The Survival of St. Joan, Jesus Christ Superstar and other musicals. David worked with The Who and their rock opera Tommy (not to be confused with the work by Michael McInnerney). From 1970 to 1979 David also taught at the Pratt Institute and the School of Visual Arts. In 1981 David came to Los Angeles to work on the Van Halen World Tour. After that he did more poster creations in and around Los Angeles for, among others, The Mark Taper Forum, The Ahmanson Theatre, The Doolittle Theatre (in Hollywood, CA), The Pasadena Playhouse. From 1984 to 1986 he was Art Director of the national gay news magazine The Advocate, in the time it changed from a tabloid newspaper to a standard national magazine format. David has also been a regular contributor of covers for TV Guide Magazine. From 1991 to 2002, David was Senior Illustrator at Warner Bros. Creative Services, creating illustrations, backgrounds and style guides for all the Looney Tunes and Hanna–Barbera characters. His other tasks included working on a variety of important projects, including creating, along with Creative Director Ed Wleczyk and his fellow artists at WBCP, the initial look and master styleguide for the Harry Potter franchise, working with writer J. K. Rowling on the first three books to make a visual cornerstone for the Harry Potter films that were to follow. In addition to the work mentioned, David Edward Byrd has also worked for the Chicago International Film Festival, the Franklin Mint, Walt Disney Imagineering and many others. Today Spanning a career of nearly 50 years, David Edward Byrd has made a significant contribution to modern American culture. Although Byrd is nearly 80 years old, he is still very much active and working. He lives in Los Angeles with his partner of 28 years, Jolino Beserra, a noted Mosaic Artist. References External links *David Edward Byrd's website *David Edward Byrd's other website Category:Little Shop Of Horrors Category:Crew